Shadows in the Water
Shadows in the Water was a campaign set in the Amaran Sea in western Farthrone. It chronicled the return of the Tsi Goa to the region and an incursion from the depths of the ocean by the forces of the primordial Xhahon-Dor. Members The adventurers in this campaign began with three members, later joined by a fourth and losing two to other groups, they were; * Brasshands, an ifrit Wishcaster from the City of Brass in Farthrone. * Lisherc, a Catfolk Brawler with limited magical abilities from the Homelands in Vhir. * Nathad, a Half-Orc Slayer from the city of Ruhx in the Rhatu Peninsula. * Randel van Isken, a Human Gunslinging Swashbuckler from Olden within the Dreden Protectorate. * Sha'Kroal, a Grippli Shaman from the Vahnese Isles. * Targray, a Human Alchemist from Drenden. Plot The North The adventure began aboard the Stalwart, a vessel bound for the Mahaarskin Strait searching for information about the great-uncle of Targray, Kredence Ricewither, lead by the dwarf Captain Brosk, and overseen by Company man Gitis. Brasshands and Randal served on board whilst Targray was an advisor as well as financier to the expedition. Lisherc lay in the brig after failing to relieve someone from watch. The ship was attacked in the night and the four of them and the captain abandon the ship to the skum, a race of fishmen warriors, taking a rowboat to the mainland. After meeting an elderly witch that directed them to travel south, the group uncovered a smugglers cave with the crew of a former Company ship captured within. When the smugglers returned the party and the crewmen easily overthrew them, as they had been attacked by pirate hunters earlier leaving many injured or dying. They set off for Farwatch to resupply and warn the Protectorate about the threat from the north aboard the commandeered ship Two-Coins . At Farwatch the group became entangled in a Suhlian plot to cripple the Company's trading efforts by summoning a monster to attack the ships that enter the port. When the skum began their approach from the north, Farwatch was abandoned and a fleet of ships headed south for New Vahna across the sea. The Betrayal Once in New Vahna, the group, now down Brasshands who chose to join the crew of the Diplomat, was contacted by an organisation called the Windward Eye, a secret society based out of Ruhx, tipping them off that there was an operation of the those working against the good of the region. They discovered an operation that was harvesting the blood of an ancient creature beneath a mountain on a remote island, a creature that constantly regenerated its flesh, and howled constantly due to its injuries. The blood or ichor was found to have unusual properties, when consumed it slowly turned your eyes a deep blue and increased your potential for magical aptitude. Lisherc and Randel traveled into the nearby jungle, searching for what Randel insisted on referring to as 'heathen gold'. There, instead of gold, they found a culture of natives that claimed the ichor would control your mind and that it was an evil creature imprisoned by the gods that dwelt in the mountain. Lisherc and Randel then conspired to attack the operation, with the signal for the natives to move into the settlement being a gunshot. When they returned to Tagrey, who had been convinced that the ichor had great potential, told them to hold off and co-operate with them. At a party held by the operations leaders, guards came in to arrest them, intending for a bit of entertainment for their other guests the leaders did not anticipate Lisherc to cast a sleep spell on half the guards and then perform a series of bone crushing blows whilst Randal dodged many slashes of their blades soon gaining the upper-hand. The group was looking to win, especially with the sounds of the natives charging into the settlement from the forest, if not for the betrayal of the group by Targrey who threw a bomb at Randel striking him in the chest, which would have been the end for the group had Lisherc's fist not connected with Targey's jaw, knocking him out. Licherc grabbed the semi-concious and still firing Randel out of the settlement back to the boat, and after a brief argument they left the settlement and headed to the open sea, leaving Targray in the hands of the strange colonists. The Island of the Serpent After being thrown off course by a storm, the Two-Coins ''came to an unmarked island in the Vahnese Isles where they came across the wreckage of boat on the coast along with some survivors. Meeting up with them and offering to return them to New Vahna, the group moved into the jungle to find supplies, along with some sailors and the leader of the survivors, Nathad. Whilst travelling they encountered a carnivorous plant that lashed out at them that needed to be hacked apart. They then found a strange golden temple that they entered. Inside they found various traps, animated constructs and restless spirits that had to be defeated or bypasses. At the end of the temple they met a strange creature with many snake heads that claimed to be trapped there, forced to serve as a guard by the previous occupants of the temple, bound by a floating crystal at top of the chamber. After some discussion, Randal shattered the crystal and the creature disappeared, leaving the group to divide up the hoard of treasure it had been protecting. Travelling further upwards to the roof of the structure, the group saw another vessel just off shore which they recognised as the pirate ship the ''Rimerunner. The Rimerunner The Rimerunner made its way towards the Two-Coins while the party desperately tried to get back to the boats to aid their ship. By the time they got there the Coins had taken a volley from the enemy ship and boarders were beginning their assault. The group aboard the rowboats clambered onto the side of the Runner as it became entangled with the Coins. After an intense fight with the captains of the vessel and her mage first mate, the group overpowered the rest of the crew and claimed the frigate as a prize. In the brig of the Runner the group discovered some prisoners that had been taken, among them was the shaman Sha'Kroal who agreed to join the group as thanks for saving him. After loading up the ship with booty from the island, the two ships set sail for New Vahna, Randal having received a message from Hraka, of the Windward Eyes, that agents there needed aid in escaping imprisonment due to the conflict with Suhli and the Protectorate. Along the way the group contacted their friend Brasshands to warn him of the betrayal of Targrey, how they spied upon with a scrying ''spell as he worked on the formula of the ichor. Along the way the group passed the ''Fortune ''and the ''Glory, two famous Company ships annihilating a Suhlian merchant ship. After a brief exchange of communication through flags, the two fleets left on good terms, each offering the other good hunting. The Return of the Tsi'Goa Reaching New Vahna, the group set up for the ships to be repaired and began looking for buyers for the large amount of gold they took off the island. After some shore leave, the group made contact with Admiral Birst, who was willing to buy the golden artefacts the group had found and even agreed to let them take some of the prisoners from their overcrowded brigs to serve as crewmen. Finding the Ruhxian members of the Windward Eye, the group made preparations to depart when the were accosted by an armed group of Company soldiers that demanded the return of the prisoners, who had been mistakenly given to the party under a bureaucratic mix-up. After failing to convince them to leave, the party opened fire on them, attempting to blow them all back off the ship through Sha'Kroal's command of the elements, though this failed and the party had to resort to more conventional methods to dispatch the Company Marines. Once the soldiers were either killed or incapacitated, the group aboard the Rimerunner headed south to attempt to outrun the pursuing Company ships, crashing through parts of New Vahna as they did. After making it to the open sea the fleet seemed to be falling back when another fleet appeared in front of the Runner, a fleet of unrecognised symbols and unusual looking ships, including a titanic capital ship which dwarfed any vessel the party had seen. As it passed by, this new fleet crippled the Rimerunner with magic. The two fleets then met in battle and the Company was forced into retreat, suffering heavy losses at the hands of the powerful capital ship. The other fleet, belonging to the Tsi Goa, who the group learned after a meeting with their leader aboard his flagship, was returning to reclaim the southern Amaran Sea where they had once lived before Shardfall. The group agreed to take on board the son of the leader, or Godmind, so that he might learn of their culture and report back. After that the Runner was towed behind the fleet's flagship to be taken for repairs. Repercussions Although the heroes had learned much about the ancient history of the region and the threat Xhahon-Dor posed to its peoples, by the close of the campaign no real headway had been gained against the Primordial, and as such he still represents a significant risk to the region and to the world. It is debatable, however, what Xhahon-Dor's motives or goals truly are, and they certainly weren't fully understood by either the heroes nor the Windward Eyes. The war between the Tsi-Gao and the Northern Company escalated, with the Company failing in all attempts to damage or destroy the formidable capital ship of the Tsi-Gao fleet, while the latter could not fight the Company at long range due to their lack of cannon, and found sieging Company fortresses to be costly in men and materials. Thus far Ruhx has stayed out of the war, benefiting the bloated city greatly, as it is seen as the new safe ground for trade in the region, and prosperity among even the lower classes is beginning to increase. The lack of Ruhxian intervention worried Suhli, who had hoped to rely on their old ally to defend their borders against the Company, and as the months passed an invasion over land by Company forces seemed inevtiable, causing chaos within the city. Many called out for the Magocracy to make peace with Drenden, but the Magocracy has remained oddly silent, seemingly out out touch with the city it rules.Category:Campaigns Category:Farthrone